The Toronto media have pounced on the news this morning that TFC have called a press conference for Wednesday afternoon "to introduce [their] new club president."

The Globe and Mail tracked down Bob Lenarduzzi, president of TFC rivals Vancouver Whitecaps. “Toronto’s success is critical for Vancouver, and critical for Montreal, it’s critical for MLS…” Lenarduzzi says. "They’ve obviously decided that they need someone in that position who has the MLS knowledge and the MLS leadership, and in my opinion it’s never too late, and so in order to reignite the passion, this is a great first step in that direction."

Payne met the media Tuesday afternoon and shined some light on the timing of his departure. Here is Goff's take on the potential reasoning, which includes lower attendance at RFK Stadium and the improved outlook for a stadium under new owners Erick Thohir and Jason Levien.

Payne said that the move was “100 percent my doing,” adding that the influence of the new ownership group was a catalyst for the change. "I feel like the new ownership is stable, and I think that they’re ready to move things forward,” Payne said. “Had it been in the recent past, I might not have felt comfortable moving on.”

And although Payne did not confirm the TFC rumors during his teleconference, he asserted that remaining at D.C. was an option, but not one he wanted to take. “I really did come to believe that it made sense for me to try to do something different. I still feel young and I’m excited about a new challenge,” he said. "I have new opportunities I want to explore, new adventures I want to undertake."

D.C. head coach Ben Olsen, meanwhile, discussed the Payne decision on the latest edition of The Capital Soccer Show, insisting that the move won’t change the soccer side of the equation in D.C. “Kevin’s been almost paternal to me since I’ve gotten here,” Olsen said. “He’s always looked out for me.”

Now, it appears, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena has a huge decision to make whether to start DeLaGarza or rookie Tommy Meyer, who has filled in ably. “We're going to let A.J. get through the week training, see how he holds up,” said Arena, who is giving the team an off-day on Wednesday. “I'm optimistic he'll be able to be part of our team on Saturday.”

The biggest storyline in Galaxy camp, meanwhile, continues to be the drama surrounding outgoing superstar David Beckham and the ambiguous future of Landon Donovan. Brian Straus of the Sporting News examines whether or not all that extra attention will derail the Galaxy’s title hopes, or if perhaps there’s no better team to take it all in stride.

The Dynamo, meanwhile, are still camped out in Houston. They won’t arrive in Los Angeles until later this week. But when game day finally arrives on Saturday there will be plenty of eyes on Corey Ashe, who will get to slot into his natural left back position after he was thrown into the midfield during last year’s Cup in place of the injured Brad Davis.

On to other news in the league, and there could be a coaching change looming soon in Montreal. Here’s Sportsnet’s Nick Sabetti on the man the Impact might hire to replace Jesse Marsch and that unique relationship between the Impact and Italian soccer. “The Impact embarked on their MLS journey with clear ideas,” Sabetti writes. “And now they're on a totally new path, and it's all more risky and vague — perhaps unnecessary and not very realistic — but potentially very rewarding.”

How rewarding would it be to sell Juan Agudelo to a European club? It doesn’t matter to Chivas USA, who insisted again that the talented youngster is not for sale, no matter how well he plays while working out with Scottish side Celtic.